Chapter 3 - Eos Vault

A Better Beginning - Outpost Podromos

A Home on Eos

The changes to Eos will be immediate, and promising - the storms have cleared, revealing placid blue skies. The planet is still a radioactive desert, but hey, you can only ask for so much at a time. Perhaps - just perhaps - it’s enough of a change to give an outpost on Eos a chance. Note that there’s a Forward Station deployed on the island now, and also take into account the 1,150 AVP and +50% Eos viability reflecting the changes to the planet. Those numbers aren’t typos, you’re basically a hero.

You’re not done here yet, however - the whole point of improving a planet’s viability is to deploy an outpost and colonize, a task you’ve yet to complete. No sense in terraforming without colonizing, so fast travel back to the second Forward Station (the Forward Station northwest of the second monolith).

When you arrive, drive down the road to the southeast and at a fork head downhill to the south, then west until you find some Kett fighting a Krogan at the Outpost Site. Leave the Nomad and head to the battle site, where you’ll find Drack engaging some Kett. Put down the first wave of Chosen down, after which a dropship will deploy some Anointed and more Chosen. When the Kett are swept from the battlefield, Drack will chat with you, ultimately joining the Pathfinder team.

After the battle you’ll find yourself near an Outpost Beacon, which is eagerly blinking in anticipation of a certain Pathfinder lavishing attention upon it… but first, take a victory lap around the nearby lake, as you can collect numerous nodes of Fluorite, a node of Cadmium, and a node of Vanadium. It’s not necessary to do this now, but it’ll be easier to exploit these resources without all the buildings and whatnot in the way. When you’re done plundering, activate the Outpost Beacon and marvel at your Pathfinder handiwork coming to fruition.

Not only is placing a colony on Eos - the first viable colony in the Heleus Cluster - a big decision in and of itself, but the nature of the outpost will be important as well. Or so the game insists, building up the choice between a military outpost, or a scientific outpost - characterizing your first steps in Andromeda. In reality, very little will change, so go for whatever suits your Ryder’s aims and interests.

A short while later you’ll find yourself talk to August Bradley - mayor of the new outpost on Eos, which he names Prodromos. Why don’t you get to name it? Oh well… banter a bit with Addison, after which you’ll find yourself on a hill overlooking Prodromos, which is off to a fast start. Enjoy another 300 AVP and +10% Eos viability (you should be at 76% viability now), after which it’s time to ponder your next moves.

Did You Know?: Prodromos is Greek for "forerunner". A fitting enough name for an outpost in the Andromeda galaxy. In fact, Andromeda and Heleus are both characters from Greek mythology, as well.

The quest "A Better Beginning" now directs you to return to the Nexus and talk to Tann, while also waiting for the radiation on Eos to clear up. Sure enough, there’s more to explore on Eos, but until some of those high radiation areas calm down a bit, there’s not much you can do about them, yet. There’s also a new Priority Ops "AVP Cryo Deployment Perks", which tasks you with speaking with Addison to thaw out some more people, which is definitely worth doing. On the other hand, there are new quests to undertake in Prodromos, and old quests that, now that you’ve made progress on Eos, can be given some attention, but there’s really no need to rush Eos until the radiation clears up.

Drax and Peebee on the Tempest

Return to your ship (it’ll now set down automatically at Prodromos, rather than the derelict Site 1), upon which you’ll have a bit of a group meeting, trivializing your own accomplishments and giving everybody the most superficial of introductions.

Once done, head through the door on the eastern side of the Bridge to find Peebee, who has set up shop in your Escape Pods area. That… can’t be a good idea, right? Talk to her as much as you can stand, then leave the Bridge, go down a ladder, and enter the Galley, where Drack is busy arguing with his granddaughter. A flighty Asari tinkerer in the Escape Pods, and a violent space frog in the kitchen - what could go wrong?

Exhaust Drax’s dialogue options to learn a bit about a Nexus operative named Spender, who Drack isn’t terribly fond of. This starts Nakmor Drack’s companion mission "Krogan Betrayal". Once you’re done with Drack make a tour of the ship, talking to older crewmembers, who may have new flirtation options available… you know, if that’s your thing. When you’re done fraternizing, return to the Bridge and check your emails to find out that Doctor Aridana has a new mission for you - she hasn’t even finished her old one, yet! Oh well, one more thing to do. When you’re done chatting, set course for the Nexus.

Back on the Nexus

When you arrive on the Nexus, you’ll be pestered by hopeful, cautious colonists, whom you can respond to however you please. There’s an awful lot of new stuff to see and do in the Nexus, and you’ll get to some of it before you leave. Generally, the place is less cluttered, more functional and overall more lively - there are even new sections of the Nexus opened up! Ignore all of that for now and make your way to the tram and ride it to the Operations level of the Nexus.

Make your way to Tann’s office, or rather, the "Pathfinder HQ", a description for the area that didn’t really make much sense… until now. Tann has been busy, and naturally one of the first areas of concern once resources were available was sprucing up his office, which is also a monument to the accomplishments of the Pathfinder. Respond to Tann however you wish - he responds surprisingly well to your gloating - after which Kesh and Kandros will show up and jockey for political position. When that’s been mitigated (for now, at least), Ryder will move on to discussing their future plans, which Tann graciously gives you unsought-after permission to pursue.

Enjoy a massive influx of XP, after which you’ll be contacted by Dr. Carlyle, who is quick to inform you that some form of breakthrough has happened with your sibling, allowing you to communicate with them. You’ll also be reminded that you need to meet with Addison, which is easily the more lucrative of the two tasks.